Blackphone launching a “privacy focused” app store

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Blackphone is hoping to lure business users with promises of a more secure app store, it has emerged.

According to The Guardian, the store which will launch in January will carry out a higher degree of vetting on potential apps – checking that they actually do what they say they will. This means that if an app on Blackphone’s store wants to be able to, say, use the camera or microphone, it better have a good reason to do so – and if it scoops up other information from your phone (such as what other apps you have installed, or personal data), it will receive more scrutiny from Blackphone than it would from the likes of Apple, Google Play or the Amazon app store.

Apparently the intention isn’t to compete with existing app stores: The new store won’t do games as it is all about privacy and serious business.

The Graun also reports that Blackphone is readying the launch of “Spaces”, an app that will split your phone (figuratively) down the middle – so that your important business apps are kept secure and separate from personal ones, and the two sides won’t be able to exchange data. Google has already announced something similar for Android – so it will be interesting to see if Blackphone going its own way, and positioning itself as ultra-secure, can make an impact.